Griffon

Griffon is a demonic bird with the power to control wind and lightning. Griffon is a recurring boss in Devil May Cry, appearing in Mission 9, Mission 12, and Mission 15. In the Devil May Cry HD Collection, the player will receive the achievements/trophies "Bird of Prey", "Cold Turkey", and "Plucked" for defeating Griffon.

Description
Griffon appears as a large, brown raptor-like bird, but it has a hole in its chest, filled with swirling demonic energy, and its exposed skull looks like the skull of several birds fused together. Its size and speed allow it to defeat even the strongest of warriors, and it has the added advantage of flight. The red lightning it creates travels at incredible speeds, and are difficult to dodge until you see his patterns. It has a razor sharp beak and always dives towards Dante during battle.

Griffon is the eldest and most loyal of Mundus' servants. Even though his combat abilities are outdated and rusty, and even if he knows his chances against Dante are slim, he is still willing to fight him out of loyalty to Mundus.

Story
Griffon first appears in the castle garden after Dante acquires the Ifrit gauntlets. Next, he confronts Dante aboard the Ship of Souls. Dante finally fights it for the last time inside the Colosseum. When he is defeated, he begs for Mundus' aid. Mundus responds by mercilessly killing him. In his death, Griffon becomes a sacrifice to the Colosseum, which in turn opens the pathway to the Wheel of Destiny.

Strategy
The key to defeating Griffon is dodging its attacks. It usually fights from a distance and gives you plenty of warning before it attacks, however; most of its attacks will track your movement. Stay calm and don't go jumping around unnecessarily.

Since Griffon fights from a distance, you will mainly be using your firearms to defeat him. The Grenadegun and Ebony & Ivory are the best for this, however both have drawbacks: The grenadegun will occasionally miss, and Ebony and Ivory are extremely weak. Use your Devil Trigger to increase the power of your shots, but don't use Charged Shots, as you need to be able to move. When Griffon crashes into the ground, it is helpless, so close in and beat it up. DT Air Raid does the best damage, but if you don't have any Devil Trigger left, use Ifrit. Note however, that Griffon only crashes during your first encounter with it. During the last encounter, when it is reduced to 1/3rd of its health, its left wing will fall off and it will use ground-based attacks.

In his first appearance, you can complete the mission without fighting Griffon, however you will miss out on red orbs.

Devil May Cry 2 novel
An alternate universe version of Griffon appears as part of the demon rebellion against Mundus alongside fellow elite demons Shadow, Frost, and Phantom. He can take on the form of his namesake via Devil Trigger. He appears to wear a bird-shaped mask while in human form.

Devil May Cry 2
Griffon also appears in Devil May Cry 2 as part of Argosax the Chaos's "blob" form. No explanation is given as to why.

Background
Griffins, less commonly spelled "Griffons," are legendary creatures with the body of a lion and wings and head of an eagle. They are considered to be extremely powerful and majestic, and are a symbol of divine power. Griffon also draws from the Thunderbird, a gigantic, mythological bird that summoned lightning whenever it flapped its wings. In the Graphic Arts book he is described as resembling the legendary Roc. Additionally, the Griffon Vulture is a species of vulture with a white head, tan body, and dark flight feathers. They are said to guard treasure.

Trivia

 * According to composer Masami Ueda, the director, Hideki Kamiya, said to him, "Imagine a tyrannosaurus rex landing," when thinking of a battle theme for this boss as he described in the DMC1 Sound DVD Book 'The Sacred Heart' (Pg. 19).
 * This was the boss when Dante uttered the famous line "Flock off feather face".